


Sensational

by digimaniac33



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, V8C12 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 22:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30146304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digimaniac33/pseuds/digimaniac33
Summary: Penny gets used to the new way of things slowly
Kudos: 39





	Sensational

Blake inhaled the steam from her freshly made cup of tea, savoring its soothing scent. Mug in hand, she made her way to a chair that offered the best view of the sky outside. The house they’d been given for their stay in Vacuo had a generous amount of space, all things considered, but it was still difficult to find time to herself.

 _Of course, I’d rather get sleep,_ she thought ruefully, but as long as she was awake she might as well catch the first changes of light in the night sky. She settled herself into the chair, rearranging an errant pillow until she was almost comfortable, which seemed to be the best she’d get. She’d just taken her first sip when her ears caught a slight noise in the hallway.

Blake tensed, turning to face the potential threat, only to find Penny standing in the hallway. “Oh!” Penny said quietly. “The lights were off, so I did not think anyone else was awake.”

Blake smiled, relaxing again. “Just me. There’s plenty of light for my eyes, and I didn’t want to bother anyone else.”

“I see.” Penny stayed where she was, her hands playing with the edge of her sleeve.

Blake gestured with her mug. “You can join me, if you’d like. I just couldn’t sleep.”

Now Penny smiled. “Thank you! I will join you!” She chose another chair for herself and pulled it close to Blake, which allowed them to continue conversing quietly. “I am also having some trouble sleeping. It’s taken a lot of getting used to, and I am not sure how to turn my thoughts off without, well, turning them off.” She mimed a switch on her head.

Blake hid her smile by taking a sip of tea. “Is that how it used to work for you, then?”

“A little. It was more like… my thoughts would slow down a great deal, so while I was recharging I felt as though I was thinking at a normal speed, but time would pass much faster than usual.” She sighed. “Now i’ve thought what feels like three nights of thoughts, and it is still the same night.” Her hands gripped the edges of her skirt. “It is not a very nice feeling.”

“Mmm.” Blake reached out and placed one of her hands on Penny’s. “I know exactly what you mean. You’re right, it’s not a good feeling at all, but you’ll learn how to work around it. We’ll help.”

Penny smiled, grabbing Blake’s hand with her own. “Thank you, Blake. Knowing I am not alone with this feeling already helps a great deal.” Now she tilted her head questioningly. “You said you were also having trouble sleeping?”

“Guilty as charged,” she quipped, leaning back into her chair again. “I got tired of staring at the wall, after I got tired of staring at the ceiling, so I decided to come out here and watch the sky change.”

Now Penny’s attention focused on the window. “Is it that close to dawn here? I thought it was still several hours away.”

“It is. I’m able to see the changing colors a little sooner than most, though.” She twitched her ears by way of explanation.

Penny’s eyes flicked to Blake’s ears as they moved, but she was still focused on the night sky outside the window. “So most people are not able to tell that the sky is already lighter out there?”

About to answer, Blake paused. The way Penny phrased that… and now Blake realized that, with the lights off in here, most of the others wouldn’t have been able to identify her from the hallway like Penny had. “Penny… you can see things just fine with this amount of light, can’t you?”

Penny dropped her gaze to the floor, her hands playing with her sleeves again. “I did not think it was that odd. My sight is not as good in the dark as it was before, so I thought perhaps this _is_ the normal amount. But I suppose I was wrong about that.”

Blake chose her words carefully. “It’s not normal for everyone, no. But it is normal for me, and now it’s normal for you, too. Besides,” she smiled kindly, “it’s nice to have someone else to share the earliest rays of dawn with.”

Penny glanced up and, seeing the smile on Blake’s face, matched it with one of her own.

* * *

Yang walked out of the briefing room, stretching her arms above her head and trying not to unhinge her jaw with the force of her yawn. _I thought getting a Huntress license meant no more longwinded lectures,_ she grumbled to herself.

Luckily, no one at Shade was even half as bad as Professor Port, but still! Any mission descriptions came overloaded with either way more detailed caveats than necessary or pointed statements about the _outsiders_ who _dared_ to set foot on Vacuo land. Not in so many words, of course, but she could read the subtext. And, okay, maybe transporting most of the population of the Solitas continent here hadn’t been the greatest idea, but it was way better than the alternatives.

Yang sighed. _Getting way too worked up over this,_ she thought. _Better find something better to do with myself before someone gives me an excuse to stay worked up._

As she rounded a corner, she found the perfect diversion - Penny coming down the hallway, headed in the same direction as Yang. “Hey! Penny! How’s it going?”

“Yang!” Penny zipped up to her side. “I am doing very well! How are you today?”

Yang shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess. Just got out of yet another mission briefing with someone who spent half the time giving me the exact same do’s and don’ts we get every time we’re sent off to help people. They should just get cards printed out, it would save everyone a buttload of time.”

“Hm…” Penny frowned thoughtfully. “I do not know if that would be feasible, but I suppose I could bring it up with Professor Rumpole - “

“No, no, it was just a joke, Penny,” Yang hastened to cut Penny off. “I’m just getting a little tired of hearing the same speech over and over again.”

“Oh.” Penny clasped her hands before her. “I’m sorry I did not understand. I just wanted to help, since this is something that is frustrating you.”

Yang reached out and patted Penny on the shoulder. “It’s fine, I’ll live with it. It’s not like I can turn my ears off after all.” Penny just nodded at that, her eyes still focused on her hands. A question suddenly occurred to Yang. “Hey, were you able to do that before? Turn your ears off, I mean? Cuz I’m sure you would’ve had plenty of chances to use that.”

Penny just shook her head. “No, my auditory capabilities were hardwired into my consciousness, so I could hear as long as I was not recharging or rebooting.” She frowned. “I do not know what I would have done if I had been able to do so, though. There were… many times I heard things that were hurtful, or cruel, or…” She trailed off for a moment before continuing. “But to not hear those things would have meant ignoring that they were being said, and I do not think that would have done any good, either.”

Without thinking, Yang reached over and pulled Penny into a one-armed hug. Penny jumped but soon relaxed into it, wrapping her own arms around Yang. “Sounds like you put a lot more thought into it than I did, and I think. you’re right. It’s better not to shut yourself away from everything.” She sighed dramatically. “Even if it would be really, _really_ useful sometimes.” She paused. “So you really listened and paid attention to _every_ boring speech you had to attend?”

Penny hesitated before answering. “Yes?” A small hiccup escaped her mouth.

Yang’s laugh rang out through the building.

* * *

Weiss eyed Myrtenaster’s edge, making sure she hadn’t missed any dents or bends during her latest maintenance session. As always, the blade was in perfect condition.

Across the training room, Penny was carefully stretching, following the routine they’d taught her to keep her new body from being overtaxed. When she saw Weiss was ready to start, she created an icy facsimile of Floating Array, the only use of her Maiden powers she would utilize during their sparring session. Similarly, Weiss would not be using her Summons, though her other Glyphs would be fair to use. Today’s session was about practicing their close combat skills, and she was determined to do her best.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Weiss pushed forward, a black Glyph behind her to give a small boost of speed. She lunged her blade at Penny, who turned it aside with one sword and struck at Weiss with another set. Weiss dodged to the side, Myrtenaster already coming up for another swipe.

They traded blows, counters, and dodges like that for some time, each trying to find any weakness in the other’s technique. Weiss was impressed by Penny’s ability - she hadn’t been able to see Penny fight much during their time at Beacon, when she had to disguise most of her strengths, and her fighting in Atlas had utilized all her abilities to the their fullest. Even without either her Maiden powers or her now unavailable robotic abilities, though, Penny was still an extraordinary fighter.

After another set of traded blows, Weiss decided to get creative. She waved one hand, creating an array of blue Glyphs that began throwing small ice chunks at Penny. She was able to dodge or swat them away, but it distracted her well enough for Weiss to create a small black Glyph on the floor behind Penny. Then, charging Myrtenaster with more blue Dust, she leapt into the air to kick off an angled white Glyph straight at Penny.

Seeing this, at first Penny didn’t step back. Instead, she braced her knees as though she were going to leap into the air herself. She quickly changed her mind, but that moment of indecision cost her as Weiss slammed in front of her with an icy explosion, throwing her through the air. She landed face down across the room and stayed there, still.

At first flushed with victory, Weiss quickly grew worried. “Penny?” She dismissed her Glyphs and sheathed Myrtenaster, running to Penny’s side. They hadn’t been fighting _that_ seriously, had they?

When she reached Penny, she quickly got the girl turned over. A wave of relief crested over her as she saw Penny was conscious, then a wave of anger. “You idiot! I thought I’d actually hurt you!”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Penny sat up, wincing a little. “When I landed, I got distracted by how the sand smelled. No one told me sand has a smell.” She paused. “It smells bad.”

Weiss stared at Penny for a moment before cradling her forehead in her hand, trying to massage away her sudden headache. Still, a small smile stole its way onto her face.

* * *

Ruby wandered throughout the market stalls, looking here and there for anything the team needed or wanted. It was her turn for grocery shopping, and she would love to bring in a surprise treat for everyone to share. She had a good chance of finding something, too - a caravan had just come into town earlier that day, after all, so she was bound to find something exciting.

She’d already gotten everything they needed, though, and nothing had caught her eye yet. _One more aisle,_ she decided, _and then I’ll call it quits._

The last aisle didn’t seem any luckier than the first she’d tried, so Ruby resigned herself to a boring, standard week of food, when her nose caught a whiff of something familiar that she hadn’t smelled in a long, long time. _Is that…_ She followed her nose to one particular stall, piled high with fruits and vegetables that were disappearing quickly.

And there, she found the _best surprise ever_.

Practically vibrating in place, she haggled quickly with the stall owner, paying what most people would probably consider a ridiculous amount, but hey! This was _absolutely_ worth it! Once she had her precious cargo tucked securely in with the other groceries, she practically flew through the streets to get back to their house in record time. She only just stopped herself from using her Semblance, since around here a Huntress using a flashy Semblance like hers was just asking for trouble. It was an _extremely_ close call, though.

Finally she made it back to their Vacuan house. Bursting in the front door, she nearly barreled straight into Yang. Only her years of experience dodging Ruby in such a state saved Yang, Ruby, and all their groceries from scattering across the ground. “Whoa! Get a good haul or something?”

“Yes!” Ruby shouted over her shoulder, already most of the way to the kitchen. There she found Penny cleaning one of the counters. “Oh, Penny! You will _never guess_ what I found!”

Penny looked up and smiled back at Ruby, energy already building in her to match Ruby’s own exuberance. “A guessing game? I can imagine a great many things you could have found, you know, like a stone shaped precisely like Zwei’s head, or a cubical turnip, or - “

“It is way better and way more exciting than anything you could dream of!” Ruby interrupted. “Feast your eyes on this!” She brandished the bag before her.

“Ooooh! You found our groceries for the week!” Penny clapped. “I do not think that is usually met with such celebration, but I am excited if you are!”

Ruby dropped the bag to her side sheepishly. “Oh, right. It’s still in there. Come on, help me put this other stuff away.” She hid her treasure before Penny could peek at it - just because she’d botched the first reveal didn’t mean she was giving up on it altogether! - and the pair made quick work of putting everything else where it belonged. Once the chore was finished, Ruby hid the surprise behind her back. “Okay, _now_ feast your eyes on this!” Again, she triumphantly held her hands out.

Penny gasped in appreciation, this time well deserved. “You found _strawberries_?

“Mm-hm!” Penny had known about Ruby’s favorite food ever since their days at Beacon, but this would be their first chance to actually _share_ the food. “Let me wash them real quick and then we can dig in.”

“Okay!” The fruits were quickly rinsed and dried, and soon Ruby was holding out a particularly juicy-looking specimen for Penny. “Are you sure I should have the first one? I wouldn’t want to hold you back, I know it has been quite some time since you have been able to enjoy these yourself.”

“Penny.” Ruby grabbed both of Penny’s hands with her own, careful not to drop the strawberry. She gazed deep into green eyes with deadly seriousness. “There will always be more strawberries, but you only get to enjoy your _first_ one _once_.” With that, she released Penny’s hands, leaving the strawberry behind.

Penny smiled, nodded a little, and lifted the strawberry up. Carefully, she took a bite.

“… _Wow_.”

* * *

There were many things to get used to after Ambrosius had helped her avoid the fate Watts had attempted to force on her. For the most part, Penny simply took things in stride as well as she could, but some things were important enough to take notes. Physical notes, of course - one of the things she’d had to get used to very quickly was the inability to store notes on her internal hard drive as she used to. Now that her memory worked differently, she had to work differently, too.

One of the most important things she took notes on was hugs.

Some notes were quick, meant more as reminders than memories ( _ask Velvet before you hug her, but she usually says yes_ ) and others took pages and pages (every time she hugged her dad was completely different than the last and had to be catalogued appropriately), but for her oldest friends she had distilled her notes to a few sentences each.

_When Yang gives hugs, they are just like her - sometimes brash, sometimes gentle, always warm. She will freely offer hugs, but will often be very surprised if receiving one unexpectedly. It is hard for me to know why for sure, but after she gets over the moment of shock, those are often the best hugs of all._

_Blake’s hugs are strong and protective. She does not offer them openly, but she will never turn one away, either (unless I am covered in mud - she was very kind about it, at least). More often, though, Blake will simply sit next to me, her body pressed against mine as she reads one of her books and I read one of mine. We do not have to say anything. It is one of the most comforting feelings in the world._

_It is difficult to know if Weiss likes hugs or not. She has not asked me to stop, but she does not volunteer to hug others often, even her family. When she does reach out, though, she hugs with her whole being, with the same passion she gives to sparring sessions or board game strategies. I should try not to crowd her, and simply be grateful for every hug I can get._

And what about her first true friend, the first person to hear the secret of her life and smile and say “You have a soul”? Penny wrote many sentences that started and stopped and didn’t explain a hundredth of what she meant. Finally, she wrote a single sentence that encompassed everything at once.

_I could spend the rest of my life hugging Ruby Rose and never be happier._


End file.
